The use of stereotypes in advertising

The promotion of a particular product or service on different mediums of communication like electronic print and digital media is called advertising. 

Advertising has a prominent role in immortalizing stereotypes. They subtly add stereotyped messages in the ads which are known to have a huge impact on society. People are fairly conditioned to consume media messages without analyzing or interpreting them. 

What is the stereotype? A stereotype is an over-generalized idea that people have about an individual or group of individuals. When it comes to gender stereotypes, Indians are most prejudiced. Let’s talk about how Indian ads stereotype certain people:

Women are always shown taking care of all the household chores, from making lunch and dinner to taking care of their children and from cleaning washrooms to doing the dishes. Every household product is aimed at homemaker women and the man plays no role in taking responsibility for the house. Almost every advertisement related to cars and automobiles features only men as drivers indicating that a car is something that is only meant for men. Whereas in home appliances ads you will always find women. Even if a man is purchasing those products, they will be standing with their wives because they are the ones who are going to use that product. 

Our ads promote the idea of racial stereotypes by only casting people with fair complexion. It is believed that only fair people are attractive which is unacceptable. All the fairness creams, beauty products, and personal care products portray the idea that a girl should be fair to look beautiful and feel confident which implies that girls who have a darker skin complexion are not confident or good-looking. 

Given that with great power comes great responsibility, mass media should disseminate messages to stop unhealthy patriarchy, misogyny, communal hatred and gender role discriminations. As societies are developing, brands need to innovate and remain updated. Advertising messages should be ethical, credible and should stop the stereotyping.